USA beat Bosnia but lose Balogun to red card
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- USA beat Bosnia-Herzegovina in San Francisco Bay Area Stadium — a win Pochettino's side thoroughly deserved — to book a last-16 tie with Belgium in Seattle on Monday (01:00 BST Tuesday)
- Folarin Balogun scored his third tournament goal shortly before half-time to break the deadlock but received a straight red card just after the hour mark when his boot landed on Bosnia defender Tarik Muharemovic's ankle in an accidental-looking collision
- The sending-off made Balogun the fourth player to score and be sent off in a World Cup knockout match, joining Brazil's Garrincha (1962 semi-final), his compatriot Ronaldinho (2002 quarter-final against England), and France's Zinedine Zidane (2006 final against Italy)
- The automatic one-match ban rules Balogun out of the Belgium game, and FIFA officials can extend the suspension to also sideline him for the quarter-final and semi-final if the Americans advance
- Ricardo Pepi is the most likely replacement, but the PSV forward has not scored in his 184 tournament minutes or in the four pre-tournament friendlies, with his last international goal coming in a November 2024 Nations League game
- Chris Richards said the squad had rallied around Balogun, telling him: "We told him we have got his back. We are a team of 26, not just one," while Pochettino said the red card moment showed his players were "ready to go and fight"
- Former England forward Sue Smith said on BBC One that the red card "galvanised" the US, who "showed a real professional side" defensively after going down to 10 men and will "give Belgium a test"
Why it matters: The USA must replace their joint-leading tournament scorer with a striker who has not scored in 184 World Cup minutes, while facing the threat that FIFA extends Balogun's ban past the automatic one-game suspension and sidelines their top forward through a potential semi-final.
